WATCH: Construction of RRS Sir David Attenborough

Construction is progressing on the RRS Sir David Attenborough – one of the most advanced polar research vessels in the world.

This time-lapse video, shot by Cammell Laird, records progress from October 2016 – December 2017.

The footage includes the integration of the stern section which traveled from A&P in Newcastle, along with the ship’s move out of the construction hall at the end of 2017. The ship will be completed by October 2018.

From 2019 onward scientists researching oceans, ice and atmosphere will have access to state-of-the-art facilities on this floating multidisciplinary research platform.

The new polar ship is commissioned by NERC, built by Cammell Laird to a Rolls-Royce design and operated by British Antarctic Survey.

The commissioning of the RRS Sir David Attenborough is part of a major UK Government polar infrastructure investment programme designed to keep Britain at the forefront of world-leading research in Antarctica and the Arctic. This £200m commitment represents the UK Government‘s largest investment in polar science since the 1980s.